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BULLETIN  No.  136 


METHODS  OF  SEEDING  OATS, 
DRILLING  AND  BROADCASTING 


BY  ALBERT  N.  HUME,  O.   D.  CENTER  AND  LEONARD  HEGNAUER 


URBANA,   ILLINOIS,   JULY,   1909 


SUMMARY  OF  BULLETIN   No.  136 

With  the  least  possible  amount  of  work  in  preparing  the  seed  bed  and 
sowing  the  grain,  the  average  yield  of  oats  in  Illinois,  sold  at  the  average  price 
per  bushel,  will  not  pay  the  cost  of  production  and  5%  interest  on  land  worth 
$100  per  acre.  If  better  methods  of  preparation  and  sowing  are  practiced,  and 
if  the  plant  food  which  is  removed  in  the  crop  is  accounted  for,  the  average 
yield  per  acre,  sold  at  the  average  price  per  bushel,  will  only  pay  interest  on 
$60  land.  Page  299 

The  use  of  the  disk  drill  as  a  means  of  seeding  oats  is  one  of  the  evident 
means  of  increasing  the  yield  per  acre.  Page  301 

The  results  of  three  years  trials  at  Urbana  show  that  a  net  gain  of  5.3 
bushels  per  acre  more  oats  were  secured  from  drilled  than  from  broadcast 
seeding.  Page  302 

Three  years'  work  at  De  Kalb  indicate  a  general  average  yield  in  favor  of 
seeding  oats  with  the  drill  rather  than  sowing  broadcast.  Page  303 

Less  seed  per  acre  is  required  where  oats  are  seeded  with  the  drill  than 
where  seeded  broadcast.  Page  303 

The  general  average  of  two  years'  trials  on  the  Sibley  field,  regardless  of 
the  kind  of  preparation  of  the  seed  bed  before  sowing,  shows  a  net  gain  of  3.6 
bushels  of  oats  per  acre  where  the  oats  were  drilled  over  those  broadcast. 

Page  305 

The  cost  of  seeding  oats  with  the  drill  is  no  greater  than  the  cost  of  seed- 
ing broadcast.  Page  307 

Regularity  of  stand,  evenness  of  growth,  and  uniformity  of  ripening  is 
secured  more  completely  with  drilled  than  with  broadcast  seeding.  Page  310 

It  is  a  matter  of  observation  that  clover  seeded  with  oats  sown  with  the 
drill  is  less  liable  to  be  killed  shortly  after  harvest  than  clover  seeded  with  oats 
sown  broadcast.  .  Page  310 

This  bulletin  will  be  sent  free  of  charge  to  any  one  interested  in  Illinois 
agriculture  upon  request  to  E.  Davenport,  Director,  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station,  Urbana,  Illinois. 


298 


BY  ALBERT  N.  HUME,  ASSOCIATE  IN  CROP  PRODUCTION, 
O.  D.  CENTER,  FIRST  ASSISTANT  IN  CROP  PRODUCTION, 
AND  LEONARD  HEGNAUER,  ASSISTANT  IN  CROPS 

Illinois  produces  annually  112,200,000  bushels  of  oats  from  3.4 
million  acres,  an  average  of  33  bushels  per  acre.  The  oats  sold  in  the 
market  bring  an  average  price  of  32.2  cents  per  bushel,  and  it  costs 
the  average  farmer  at  least  16  cents  per  bushel  to  produce  oats,  when 
the  yield  is  only  33  bushels  per  acre.  Illinois  must  produce  a  larger 
yield  per  acre  if  oats  are  to  remain  a  profitable  crop.  It  costs  not  less 
than  $5.45  per  acre  to  produce  oats,  taking  a  ten-year  average  and 
using  conservative  figures  in  the  computations.  This  cost  considers 
the  minimum  amount  of  preparation  and  work  involved  in  growing 
the  crop.  The  items  considered  are,  the  sowing,  with  a  broadcast 
seeder,  the  seed,  disking  once,  harrowing  twice,  harvesting,  including 
the  twine  used,  and  the  shocking,  threshing,  and  marketing.  The 
average  yield  per  acre,  and  price  per  bushel  given  above,  show  that 
$5.17  is  the  gross  profit  received.  This  gross  profit  will  not  pay  the 
taxes  and  5  percent  interest  on  $100  land. 

It  must  be  kept  in  mind,  however,  that  in  the  cost  per  acre  of 
production,  we  consider  the  minimum  amount  of  labor,  make  no 
allowance  for  wear  of  machinery  and,  what  is  much  more  important, 
have  wholly  disregarded  the  plant  food  which  we  remove  in  the  crop, 
and  which  we  must  replace  if  the  land  is  to  remain  productive  to  its 
present  degree.  When  these  items  of  cost  are  considered,  the  gross 
profit  is  reduced  to  $3.33,  which  amount  will  pay  taxes  and  5  percent 
interest  on  only  $60  land. 

Except  then  for  the  fact  that  the  oats  of  this  state  are  commonly 
raised  as  needed  in  rotation  with  corn,  the  crop  cannot  be  called  a 
profitable  one. 

There  is  proportionally  as  much  possibility  for  improvement  in 
the  oat  crop,  as  there  has  been  and  is  in  the  corn-crop  of  Illinois. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  farms  in  the  corn  belt  of  the  state  are 
capable  of  producing  75  bushels  of  oats  per  acre.  Farms  that  average 
75  bushels  per  acre  from  land  in  oats  have  made  a  profit  of  more 
than  20  cents  per  bushel,  or  more  than  $15  per  acre,  which  is  certainly 
a  more  business-like  profit  than  the  average,  and  this  moreover  places 
the  oat  crop  among  the  profitable  crops  for  Illinois  farmers  to  grow. 
Illinois  farmers  should  continue  to  hope,  and  strive,  to  raise  at  least 
75  bushels  of  oats  per  acre  as  an  average. 

299 


300 


BULLETIN  No.  136 
URBANA  FIELD — 1905 — PLAN  OF  OAT  PLOTS 


[July, 


161 

Drilled 
Broadcast 

162 

Drilled 
Broadcast 

163        Standard 

Drilled 
Broadcast 

164 

Drilled 
Broadcast 

165 

Drilled 
Broadcast 

166        Standard 

Drilled 
Broadcast 

167 

Drilled 
Broadcast 

168 

Drilled 
Broadcast 

,,_         Standard 
Soil  plot 

Drilled 
Broadcast 

I7n        Standard 
Soil  plot 

Drilled 
Broadcast 

171 

Drilled 
Broadcast 

172 

Drilled 
Broadcast 

173        Standard 

Drilled 
Broadcast 

174 

Drilled 
Broadcast 

175 

Drilled 
Broadcast 

176        Standard 

Drilled 
Broadcast 

177 

Drilled 
Broadcast 

178 

Drilled 
Broadcast 

Sixty   Day 

Prize   Cluster 

Silvermine 

Black  Gotham 

Siberian 

Silvermine 

Lincoln 

American   Banner 

Silvermine 

Silvermine 

Twentieth   Century 

Irish  Victor 

Silvermine 

Waverly 

Danish  White 

Silvermine 

White  Bonanza 

Schonen 


It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  bulletin  to  review  all  the  factors  that 
may  enter  into  the  production  of  more  profitable  crops  of  oats,  but 
only  to  compare  two  common  methods  of  seeding.  Perhaps  the  most 
obvious  way  to  get  some  immediate  increase  in  yield  from  land  in  oats 
is  to  employ  the  drill  instead  of  continuing  to  use  the  more  common 


1909]  METHODS  OF  SEEDING  OATS  301 

broadcast  seeder.     In  support  of  this  opinion  we  give  experimental 
data  secured  in  this  state  from  three  different  crop  experiment  fields. 

EXPERIMENTS  AT  URBANA 

Experiments  with  drilling  and  broadcasting  of  oats  at  Urbana 
have  been  conducted  three  separate  years  in  connection  with  the 
regular  variety  test  plots.  Each  of  the  three  years,  half  of  each 
variety  plot  has  been  drilled  and  half  broadcasted.  The  sowing  on  both 
halves  of  the  plots  has  been  done  with  the  same  disk  drill,  the  broad- 
casting being  done  by  taking  the  lower  ends  of  the  grain  spouts  out 
of  their  places,  and  by  directing  the  open  end  forward,  letting  them 
scatter  the  oats  in  front  of  the  disks  instead  of  exactly  in  the  track 
of  the  disks.  Thus  the  process  was  practically  the  same  as  the  usual 
one  of  broadcasting  the  seed  and  disking  afterward,  and  it  was  also 
comparable  to  drilling  on  the  other  half  of  the  plot,  the  seed  having 
been  put  on  with  the  same  machine,  doing  the  same  amount  of  work. 

The  plan  of  the  variety  plots  for  1905,  given  on  page  300,  will 
illustrate  the  plan  of  the  plots  for  the  three  years  of  the  experiments  at 
Urbana.  It  may  be  remembered  that  the  varieties  are  different  on  all 
plots  except  the  standard  plots,  which  are  always  put  in  with  a  single 
variety.  For  the  present  experiment  the  matter  of  varieties  is  not  con- 
sidered. The  plan  is  intended  to  show  that  the  north  half  o'f  every  plot 
was  drilled  and  the  south  half  of  every  plot  broadcasted.  The  names  of 
the  varieties  grown  on  these  plots  in  1905  is  also  shown.  While  these 
varieties  were  practically  the  same  for  every  year  of  the  experiment  re- 
corded, their  relative  position  in  the  series  of  plots  and  in  regard  ,to 
each  other,  was  not  the  same  during  the  three  years  of  the  experiments. 

This  same  plan  will  not  only  serve  to  illustrate  the  manner  of 
conducting  the  experiment  in  1905,  1907  and  1908  at  Urbana,  but  also 
at  the  De  Kalb  field  in  1906,  1907  and  1908. 

In  Table  1  one  of  the  most  noteworthy  features  is  that  the 
relative  effect  of  drilling  and  broadcasting  varies  greatly  with 
seasonal  conditions.  Thus  in  the  year  1905  without  any  exception  the 
drilled  half  of  each  of  the  18  plots  yielded  more  bushels  per  acre  than 
the  broadcast  half,  the  average  difference  being  12  bushels  in  favor 
of  drilling.  In  1907  the  drilled  oats  yielded  more  in  11  instances,  in  2 
of  the  remaining  ones  the  drilled  and  broadcast  halves  of  the  plots 
yielded  exactly  the  same,  and  in  the  remaining  5  cases  out  of  the  18,  the 
broadcast  halves  yielded  more  than  the  drilled.  In  the  year  1908  more 
plots  were  used  in  the  experiment  than  formerly.  Furthermore,  in- 
stead of  sowing  equal  amounts  of  seed  on  the  drilled  and  broadcast 
halves  as  was  done  in  1905  and  1907,  the  machine  was  set  to  sow  2 
bushels  per  acre  on  the  drilled  and  3  bushels  per  acre  on  the  broadcast 
halves.  This  was  done  with  the  thought  that  the  increased  amount  of 
seed  might  increase  the  yield  sufficiently  to  compensate  for  the  differ- 
ence, if  any,  caused  by  drilling.  The  actual  yield  of  the  drilled  halves 
of  the  plots  was  more  than  the  broadcast  in  18  instances  out  of  30, 
exactly  the  same  in  3  instances,  and  less  than  the  broadcast  halves  in 
the  remaining  9  instances.  The  actual  average  yield  of  the  30  plots 


302 


BULLETIN  No.  136 


[July, 


was  1.6  bushels  per  acre  greater  on  the  drilled  halves  than  on  the 
broadcast  halves.  ^  Adding  to  this  1  bushel  per  acre  of  seed  oats  saved 
on  the  drilled  halves,  the  difference  in  favor  of  drilling  in  1908  at 
Urbana,  is  made  2.6  bushels  per  acre.  As  an  average  of  all  plots  for 
the  three  years  the  gain  in  favor  of  drilling  at  Urbana,  was  5.3  bushels 
per  acre. 

The  following  table  summarizes  the  three  years  of  tests  conduct- 
ed at  Urbana.  Results  for  the  year  1906  are  not  given,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  the  test  was  not  included  that  year. 

TABLE  1.     YIELDS  OF  OATS,  URBANA  FIELD,  1905,  1907,  1908 
Methods  of  Seeding  -Drilled  and  Broadcast 


Plot 
No. 

Yield  in  bushels  per  acre 

1905 

1907 

1908 

Drilled 

Broadcast 

Drilled 

Broadcast 

Drilled 

Broadcast 

1 

2 
3 
4 

5 

569 

43.5 
63.0 
59.0 
68.2 

48.1 
39.5 
51.9 

47.4 
56.0 

67.1 

28.1 
37.2 
34.7 

34.7 

52.8 
27.5 
33.7 
322 
35.9 

48.8 
30.6 
36.9 
28.4 
35.6 

40.6 
28.4 
23.1 
31.6 
31.2 

6 
7 
8 
9 
10 

71.6 
63.6 

56.7 
53.3 
57.0 

50.2 
48.1 
40.9 
45.4 
47.4 

35.6 
300 
31.5 
32.5 
33.4 

34.4 
29.6 
35.0 
33.7 

32.2 

27.2 
26.9 
33.7 
32.5 
30.0 

26.2 
25.9 
36.9 
30.6 
30.0 

11 

12 
13 
14 
15 

53.3 
58.4 
62.7 
61.0 
629 

48.5 
47.8 
56.4 
45.4 
53.3 

26.3 

27.2 
36.0 
33.7 
322 

30.0 
28.7 
33.0 
287 
30.9 

30.3 

25.3 
31.5 
25.0 
31  5 

30.0 
27.5 
27.5 
28.4 
30.3 

16 

17 
18 

67.0 
75.6 
71.0 

56.7 

52.2 
53.3 

33.4 
30.9 
300 

334 
30.9 
29.7 

28.7 
19.4 
16.9 

27.2 
16.2 
17.2 

21 

22 
23 
24 
25 

- 

42.5 
31.8 
16.6 
17.8 
26.2 

34.0 
28.7 
17.5 

18.3 
21.8 

26 

27 
28 
29 
30 

27.1 
26.2 
18.7 
16.8 
28.1 

26.2 
23.7 
18.7 
18.7 
28.1 

31 

32 

24.7 
19.7 

22.2 
20.9 

A?erage 

61.3 

49.3 

34.1 

32.9 

27.3 

25.7 

Gam  fir 
drilled 

12.0 

*> 

1.2 

26* 

*Including  1  bushel  saved  in  seed. 

Net  average  in  favor  of  drilled,  5.3  bushels. 


1909]  METHODS  OF  SEEDING  OATS  303 

EXPERIMENTS   AT   DE  KALB 

As  has  been  stated,  the  general  plan  of  variety  tests  at  the  De  Kalb 
field  is  the  same  as  that  at  Urbana.  The  experiments  with  methods 
of  seeding  of  oats  have  been  conducted  at  that  field  three  separate 
years.  In  1906,  when  the  plots  were  all  necessarily  plowed  out  of 
timothy  sod  in  the  late  spring,  the  plan  was  to  prepare  the  land  as  well 
as  possible  by  disking  and  harrowing  and  to  drill  every  other  plot  and 
broadcast  the  alternate  ones.  In  1907  and  1908  the  same  plan  was 
followed  as  on  the  Urbana  field,  viz.,  that  of  drilling  half  of  each  plot 
and  broadcasting  the  other  half. 

At  De  Kalb,  as  at  Urbana,  the  drilling  was  done  with  a  disk 
drill,  and  the  broadcasting  was  done  by  arranging  the  drill  spouts  so 
they  might  deliver  the  seed  in  front  of  the  disks  instead  of  directly 
into  their  tracks.  Also  this  work  at  De  Kalb,  as  well  as  at  Urbana, 
was  done  in  connection  with  the  usual  variety  tests. 

Conditions  of  soil  and  climate  at  the  De  Kalb  field  during  the 
three  years  were  not  the  most  favorable.  In  1906  the  field  on  which 
the  tests  were  made  was  not  secured  until  winter,  so  the  ground  for 
oats  was  plowed  out  of  timothy  sod  in  the  spring;  thus  making  it 
difficult  to  secure  the  best  seed  bed  for  the  oats.  The  season  at  De 
Kalb  in  1907,  as  well  as  at  Urbana,  was  more  than  usually  wet.  Theo- 
retically, the  surplus  of  rain  would  favor  the  yield  of  broadcast  oats 
at  both  places  for  the  season  of  1907.  It  is  well  known  that  the  season 
of  1908  was  also  an  unfavorable  one  for  oats  thruout  almost  our 
entire  state. 

At  the  De  Kalb  field  in  1906  the  difference  was  4  bushels  per  acre; 
and  in  1907  it  was  3.2  bushels  per  acre,  in  favor  of  drilling.  In  1906, 
in  8  instances  out  of  a  total  of  10,  where  the  pairs  of  plots  were  com- 
parable, the  yield  of  drilled  oats  was  larger;  in  1  instance  it  was  the 
same  as  the  broadcast ;  and  in  the  1  remaining  instance  the  yield  was 
0.7  bushel  in  favor  of  broadcast  oats.  In  1907,  35  plots  were  sowed 
with  different  varieties,  and  half  of  each  was  drilled  and  'half  broad- 
cast. In  31  instances  out  of  the  35,  the  drilled  halves  of  the  plots 
yielded  more  than  the  broadcast ;  in  the  4  remaining  instances  the 
broadcast  halves  of  the  plots  yielded  most. 

In  1908  at  De  Kalb  10  one-fifth  acre  plots  were  employed  in  this 
trial,  one  half  of  each  plot  being  drilled  and  one  half  being  broadcast. 
Five  of  the  plots  yielded  more  bushels  per  acre  on  the  drilled  halves, 
and  the  other  5  yielded  more  on  the  broadcast  halves.  The  actual 
average  yield  for  the  two  methods  of  seeding  was  the  same  to  0.1 
bushel.  It  should  be  stated,  however,  that  the  drilled  halves  were 
seeded  at  the  rate  of  1.5  bushels  per  acre,  which  is  probably  more 
favorable  to  the  clover  growing  in  the  oats,  than  for  a  maximum  yield 
of  oats  (See  Illinois  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  41)  ;  while  the 
broadcast  halves  were  seeded  at  the  rate  of  2^  bushels  per  acre.  In 
calculating  the  net  gain  in  favor  of  the  drill  the  1  bushel  per  acre 
which  was  saved  in  the  seed  on  drilled  halves,  is  added  to  the  results 
for  that  method  of  seeding;  this  gives  a  net  difference  of  1  bushel 


304 


BULLETIN  No.  136 


[July, 


per  acre  in  favor  of  seeding  with  a  drill  in  1908,  at  De  Kalb.     At  the 
foot  of  Table  2  is  given  the  net  general  average  yield  in   favor  of 
seeding  with  a  drill,  which  for  the  three  years  is  2.7  bushels  per  acre. 
The  following  table  summarizes  results  from  the  De  Kalb  field. 

TABLE  2.     YIELDS  OF  OATS,   DEKALB,  1906,  1907.   1908    - 
Methods  of  Seeding — Drilled  and  Broadcast 


Yield  in  bushels  per  acre 

Plot 

1906 

1907                                       1908 

No. 

Drilled 

Broadcast 

Drilled 

Broadcast 

Drilled 

Broadcast 

1 

19.5 

18.4 

26.6 

23.1 

36.6 

32.5 

2 

16.8 

149 

287 

27.5 

28.1 

37.2 

3 

16.3 

16.3 

32.2 

316 

39.7 

37.5 

4 

21.2 

19.1 

28.7 

30.6 

43.4 

35.3 

5 

29.1 

24.5 

30.6 

26.9 

33.4 

45.0 

6 

261 

21  2 

30.9 

24.7 

519 

38.1 

7 

271 

24.7 

38.1 

259 

47.8 

54.1 

8 

21  9 

22.6 

35.0 

25.6 

42.2 

37.2 

9 

32.7 

17.7 

309 

27.2 

43.4 

43.7 

10 

27.3 

18.9 

33.7 

32.2 

34.4 

40.9 

11 

27.8 

26.2 

12 

30.0 

26.2 

13 

26.9 

29.1 

14 

27.2 

34.1 

15 

312 

26.6 

16 

29.7 

24.7 

17 

38.4 

34.1 

18 

30.6 

26.8 

21 

21.9 

-      23.1 

- 

22 

30.6 

29.4 

23 

29.4 

262 

' 

24 

32.5 

31  9 

25 

37.5 

33.7 

26 

32.5 

27.5 

27 

36.9 

31.2 

28 

35.0 

31.9 

29 

362 

31.2 

I 

30 

36.2 

33.7 

31 

33.1 

31.2 

32 

40.0 

38.1 

33 

33.1 

27.5 

34 

37.5 

32.5 

35 

35.6 

34.4 

36 

33.1 

30.0 

37 

43.1 

344 

irerage 

23.8 

19.8 

32.6 

29.4 

40.1 

40.1 

Gain  For 

drilled 

4.0 

3.2 

1.0* 

*In  seed  saved. 

General  net  average  in  favor  of  drilled,  2.7  bushels. 


1909] 


METHODS  OF  SEEDING  OATS 


305 


EXPERIMENTS  AT   SIBLEY 

At  Sibley,  in  Ford  County,  in  the  two  seasons,  1906  and  1907,  a 
series  of  oat  plots  were  arranged  which  were  designed  to  furnish 
rather  direct  comparison  between  drilling  and  broadcasting.  The  out- 
line in  Table  3  is  self-explanatory.  It  shows  the  general  plan  of  these 
oat  plots  at  Sibley.  The  field  was  divided  into  4  parts,  each  part  du- 
plicating the  others,  with  the  exception  that  different  varieties  were 
used  on  the  different  parts.  From  this  plan  it  may  be  seen  that  plots 
1  to  6  are  duplicates  of  plots  11  to  16,  21  to  26,  and  31  to  36.  Pre- 
vious to  being  put  into  oats  in  1906  this  land  had  been  in  corn,  and 
clover  had  been  seeded  on  the  land  at  the  last  cultivation  of  the  corn. 

The  following  table  summarizes  the  yields  of  oats  from  these 
different  plots  at  Sibley  for  the  two  years,  1906  and  1907. 

TABLE  3.     YIBLD  OF  OATS,  SIBLEY  FIELD,  1906,  1907 

(Bushels  per  acre) 
Methods  of  Seeding — Drilled  and  Broadcast 


Manner  of  preparing 
and  sowing 

Plot 
No. 

Yields  of  plots 

Ave.  yield  of  plots 
each  year 

Ave.  for 
two  years 

1906 

1907 

1906 

1907 

1 

41.4 

15.0 

Broadcast,  disk,  and 

11 

49.8 

22.2 

harrow 

21 

31.9 

23.5 

37.0 

202 

28.6 

31 

25.0  ' 

? 

2 

36.6 

263 

Disk  and  drill 

12 
22 

32.6 
315 

253 
31.2 

35.0 

27.6 

31.3 

32 

39.3 

? 

3 

31.4 

15.3 

Disk,  broadcast, 

13 

35.9 

20.8 

disk,  and  harrow 

23 

42.1 

20.3 

36.3 

21.3 

28.8 

33 

35.7 

29.0 

4 

35.7 

256 

Disk,  drill,  and 

14 

43.7 

25.8 

harrow 

24 

34.3 

28.0 

37.9 

27.1 

32.5 

34 

? 

29.0 

6 

47.9 

25.1 

Plow,  broadcast, 

16 

40.3 

22.2 

and  harrow 

26 

42.1 

19.0 

40.6 

22.8 

31.7 

36 

32.1 

25.0 

5 

52.8 

25.0 

Plow  and  drill 

15 

25 

53.2 
55.3 

23.0 

23.5 

48.6 

23.9 

36.2 

35 

33.2 

24.0 

Average  of  all  drilled  plots 

40.5, 

26.2 

33.3 

Average  of  all  broadcast  plots 

38.0 

21.4 

297 

Gain  for  drilled 

2.5 

4.8 

3.6 

306  BCLLKTIX  Xo.  136  [July, 

It  should  be  stated  in  this  connection  that  the  plots  that  were  not 
plowed  for  oats  showed  a  very  marked  growth  of  this  claver  in  the 
oats  in  the  summer  of  1906.  Unquestionably,  this  growth  of  clover 
diminished  the  yield  of  oats  on  such  plots.  In  1907,  the  arrangement 
of  plots  for  this  experiment  was  exactly  the  same  as  fn  1906.  The 
series  of  plots  was  laid  out  in  the  same  40  acres,  tho  not  on  the  same 
land. 

A  little  computation  with  the  preceding  table  shows  us  that  on  all 
plots  plowed  before  seeding,  the  difference  in  yield  in  favor  of  drilled 
oats  was  4.5  bushels  per  acre.  In  the  case  of  all  plots  that  were  only 
disked  before  or  after  seeding,  the  average  in  favor  of  drilling  was 
2.5  bushels  per  acre.  This  would  indicate  that  plowing  does  not  take 
the  place  of  the  use  of  the  drill;  in  fact,  drilling  seems  to  be  even 
more  advantageous  on  plowed  land  than  on  land  only  disked  before 
seeding. 

As  before  noted  the  growth  of  clover  on  the  unplowed  plots  in 
1906  was  very  pronounced.  It  may  be  questioned  whether  an  increase 
of  2  bushels  of  oats  per  acre  is  sufficient  to  pay  for  the  labor  involved 
in  plowing,  rather  than  disking,  before  drilling.  In  any  case  where 
clover  may  have  been  seeded  in  the  corn  the  year  previously  and  have 
made  any  marked  growth,  or  in  any  case  where  the  land  is  very 
weedy,  even  tho  it  may  not  be  necessary  to  plow  land  for  oats  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  a  better  seed  bed,  it  is  desirable  to  plow  in 
order  to  remove  the  clover,  or  weeds,  from  competing  with  the  oats, 
and  thus  lowering  the  yield. 

In  1907,  because  of  rainfall,  it  was  impossible  on  plots  1,  11  and 
21,  to  harrow  the  oats  immediately  after  broadcasting  them,  so  they 
lay  on  the  surface  of  the  ground  from  March  26  till  April  3,  when  the 
plots  were  harrowed.  It  is  obvious  that  this  may  have  reduced  the 
yield  of  these  broadcast  plots.  Nevertheless  the  conditions  of  the  ex- 
periment at  Sibley  were  those  that  often  arise  in  practical  farm  opera- 
tions. They  illustrate  the  more  forcibly  one  of  the  advantages  in  the 
use  of  drills. 

We  have  then  on  3  fields,  fairly  representing  the  entire  area  of 
oat  production  of  Illinois,  a  significant  showing  in  favor  of  sowing 
oats  with  the  drill.  At  Urbana  this  was  5.3  bushels  per  acre,  at  De  Kalb 
it  was  2.7  bushels,  and  at  Sibley  it  was  3.6  bushels  per  acre.  These 
averages  are  taken  upon  the  supposition  that  the  averages  in  favor  of 
drilling  for  each  year  may  receive  equal  weight.  By  taking  into  ac- 
count the  number  of  years  included  in  the  trials  at  each  field  and 
taking  a  weighted  general  average  of  these  averages,  we  find  3.9  bushels 
per  acre  more  for  drilling  than  for  broadcasting.  It  is  interesting  to 
observe  that  a  difference  of  3.9  bushels  per  acre  over  the  entire  area 
of  3.4  million  acres  of  oats  land  in  Illinois  is  a  matter  of  over  13 
millions  bushels  of  oats  annually.  At  the  average  farm  price  of  oats 
cited  on  page  299,  this  means  more  than  $4,000,000,  which  may  be 
taken  as  fairly  representing  the  possible  increase  to  the  state. 


1909]  METHODS  OF  SKEDING  OATS  307 

COST  OF   SEEDING  BY  THE  Two  METHODS 

By  inspecting  Table  3,  we  have  found  that  the  difference  in  favor 
of  drilling  is  even  greater  on  plowed  plots  than  on  those  prepared  by 
any  other  method.  This  is  not  sufficient  to  lead  to  the  general  conclu- 
sion that  oat  ground  must  always  be  plowed,  but  it  certainly  indicates 
that  the  seed  bed  should  be  well  prepared  by  one  method  or  another. 
In  reckoning  then  the  cost  of  sowing  by  each  method,  we  may  assume 
that  the  same  amount  of  work  will  be  put  upon  preparation  of  the 
seed  bed  for  sowing  for  each  of  the  two  methods. 

The  difference  in  cost  then  of  sowing  by  the  two  methods  must 
lie  in  the  difference  in  amount  of  labor  it  takes  to  actually  put  on  the 
seed  and  cover  it.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  annual  cost  entailed 
by  wear  upon  drilling  machinery  is  scarcely  appreciable.  With  good 
care  a  drill  should  not  cdst  over  $2.50  to  $5.00  per  year,  depending 
upon  size  of  drill  and  amount  of  land  sowed. 

It  is  found  from  the  Station's  experiments  and  from  the  experi- 
ence of  careful  farmers  that  going  once  over  the  land  with  a  broadcast 
seeder,  and  once  with  a  harrow,  will  take  as  much  time  and  labor  as 
once  going  over  it  with  a  drill.  This  would  certainly  represent  the 
minimum  of  work  that  could  be  done  in  each  case.  If,  besides  this, 
the  broadcast  land  needs  to  be  disked,  while  the  disk-drilled  land 
needs  only  to  be  harrowed,  the  drilled  land  would  require  less  expense. 
We  may  reasonably  hold  that  it.  is  at  least  as  cheap  to  drill  oats  as  to 
broadcast  and  then  cover  the  seed,  and  that  whatever  increase  in  yield 
is  secured  by  drilling  is  clear  gain.  That  this  will  hold  good  in  actual 
practice  is  affirmed  by  a  number  of  successful  farmers  in  Illinois  who 
have  used  drills. 

The  question  will  likely  arise  as  to  what  kind  of  drill  to  use.  To 
this  it  is  only  necessary  to  reply,  that  the  only  practical  kind  for  corn 
belt  farmers  is  some  good  make  of  disk  drill.  The  disk  drill  is  the 
only  kind  we  know  that  will  not  clog  in  going  thru  an  ordinary  amount 
of  corn  stalks  or  other  refuse  on  land.  A  good  disk  drill  will  do  this 
without  much  trouble.  Perhaps  the  disks  should  be  8  inches  apart 
rather  than  closer  together  for  this  mechanical  reason. 

RESULTS   FROM   OTHER  SOURCES 

The  longest  continued  experiments  on  methods  of  seeding  oats 
we  are  able  to  quote  were  conducted  at  the  Kansas  Experiment  Sta- 
tion. The  work  is  reported  in  Kansas  Bulletin  No.  74.  Plots  were 
seeded  each  year  broadcast ;  others  with  a  hoe  drill,  others  with  a  shoe 
drill  with  press  .wheels,  and  others  with  a  shoe  drill  without  press 
wheels.  For  present  purposes  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  as  an  average 
for  seven  years  the  lowest  yielding  plots  were  those  sown  broadcast, 
the  actual  average  being  26.2  bushels  per  acre.  The  highest  yield  was 
secured  by  sowing  with  the  shoe  drill  without  press  wheels,  31.5  bushels 
per  acre  being  the  average  by  that  method.  This  shows  a  difference 
of  5.3  bushels  in  favor  of  drilling. 


308  BULLETIN  Xo.  136  [July, 

At  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College  Experiment  Station  Farm  at 
Guelph,  Canada,  drilling  and  broadcasting  oats  were  compared  in 
three  separate  seasons,  according  to  a  summary  of  results  given  in 
the  annual  report  of  that  Farm  for  1898.  Six  plots  were  drilled  and 
6  broadcast  each  year.  The  work  of  broadcasting  was  done  by  hand. 
"Without  a  single  exception,  oats  sown  with  a  grain  drill  on  6  differ- 
ent plots  for  three  years  in  succession  gave  a  larger  yield  of  grain  per 
acre  than  those  broadcast  by  hand."  The  summary  of  averages  for 
three  years  shows  that  the  average  yield  of  broadcast  oats  was  48 
bushels  per  acre,  and  of  drilled  oats  was  52  bushels  per  acre,  4  bushels 
per  acre  in  favor  of  drilling. 

In  Bulletin  96  of  the  Iowa  Experiment  Station  the  question  of 
drilled  vs.  broadcast  oats  is  discussed.  The  Iowa  Experiment  Station 
recommends  that  "when  oats  are  sown  broadcast  instead  of  drilled,  a 
heavier  seeding  is  desirable,  as  much  of  the  seed  remains  uncovered  or 
at  best  is  only  shallowly  buried  and  thus  fails  to  sprout  until  several 
days  late.  This  produces  a  field  that  is  spotted  all  through  the  season. 
It  has  been  held  that  drilling  is  not  a  very  important  factor  with  the 
oat  crop,  but  it  is  evident  that  the  drill  not  only  saves  seed  but  also 
increases  the  yield." 

In  addition  to  the  above  the  Iowa  Station  gives  the  results  with 
two  varieties  of  oats  each  seeded  both  drilled  and  broadcast  at  the  uni- 
form rate  of  2^  bushels  per  acre. 

The  average  shows  a  yield  of  44.9  bushels  per  acre  which  tested 
23^2  pounds  per  bushel  where  the  oats  were  drilled,  while  an  average 
of  35.3  bushels  per  acre  of  oats  testing  2\l/2  pounds  per  bushel  was 
secured  from  broadcast  sowing.  While  the  results  given  are  only  for 
a  single  season  the  increase  of  9.6  bushels  per  acre  certainly  indicates 
a  decided  advantage  gained  in  the  use  of  the  drill. 


1909] 


METHODS  OF  SEEDING  OATS 


CONCLUSIONS 


309 


With  the  data  in  hand  from  experiment  fields  in  different  parts 
of  our  own  state,  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  these  data  are  so  fully 
m  accord  with  data  from  Kansas,  Canada,  and  Iowa,  there  is  no 
question  that,  as  an  average,  more  oats  per  acre  can  be  secured  in 
Illinois  by  using  the  drill  method  of  seeding. 

Having  once  established  a  fact,  it  is  interesting  and  profitable  to 
know  why  it  is  a  fact.  A  study  of  the  root  systems  of  young  oat 
plants  gives  us  a  reason  why  drilled  oats  grow  much  more  uniformly 
and  therefore  yield  more  bushels  per  acre  than  broadcast  oats.  The 
illustration  below  shows  in  the  upper  line  young  oat  plants  taken  from 
broadcast  seeding.  In  the  lower  line'  we  have  young  plants  from 
drilled  oats  of  the  same  age. 


The  line  drawn  represents  the  surface  of  the  ground.  These  oat 
plants  are  placed  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  relative  position  they  were 
in  when  washed  from  the  soil. 

It  is  instructive  to  note  the  plants  in  the  upper  half  of  the  illus- 
tration and  see  where  the  oat  grain  was  found  and  its  position  in  rela- 
tion to  the  surface  of  the  ground.  It  is  also  of  interest  to  see  the 
irregularity  of  depth  shown. 


310  BULLETIN  No.  136  [July, 

In  contrast  with  the  upper  half  of  the  illustration  it  is  but  neces- 
sary to  note  the  uniformity  of  depth  of  the  drilled  oats,  the  similarity 
of  plants  and  of  roots,  and  the  even  growth  in  every  particular,  to  be 
convinced  that  the  regularity  of  stand  secured,  the  evenness  of  growth, 
the  power  to  stand  adverse  conditions,  and  the  evenness  and  uniform- 
ity of  the  ripening  of  any  field  of  drilled  oats  is  not  a  matter  of  opin- 
ion but  rather  an  easily  explained  and  established  fact. 

Many  of  the  plants  from  the  broadcast  seeding  are  in  such  posi- 
tion as  to  be  easily  and  quickly  affected  by  freezing  weather  when 
they  are  very  young,  or  by  drought  even  after  they  have  attained  con- 
siderable size.  With  nearly  all,  the  root  system  is  decidedly  more 
superficial  and  from  its  very  position  indicates  that  there  will  be  great 
dissimilarity  in  rapidity  of  growth,  time  of  heading,  and  time  of  ripen- 
ing. When  we  consider  the  seed  that  has  been  left  completely  uncov- 
ered or  is  so  near  the  surface  as  to  sprout  and  then  succumb  to  the 
adverse  but  natural  climatic  conditions  that  will  prevail,  we  must  con- 
clude that  the  increased  yield  per  acre  from  the  use  of  the  drill  is  but 
one  of  the  points  of  superiority  of  this  method  of  seeding  over  that  of 
broadcasting. 

It  is  a  matter  of  observation,  that  when  clover  is  seeded  in  oats 
which  are  drilled,  and  which  have  the  drill  rows  in  a  north  and  south 
direction  there  is  considerably  less  danger  of  the  young  clover  being 
killed  by  the  hot  sun  as  soon  as  the  oats  are  harvested.  It  is  plain  to 
see  that  the  clover  plants  receive  more  direct  sunshine  when  sown  as 
indicated  than  where  the  nurse  crop  is  broadcast.  The  young  plants 
are  thus  hardened  or  tempered  to  the  hot  sun  and  there  for-e  do  not 
readily  die  because  of  the  burning  which  they  undergo  when  the 
nurse  crop  is  removed. 

Considering  then  the  increased  yields  per  acre  secured,  the  even- 
ness of  stand,  regularity  of  growth,  uniformity  of  heading  and  ripen- 
ing, smaller  amount  of  seed  necessary,  and  the  observed  effect  upon 
the  clover  which  may  be  sown,  we  cannot  but  conclude  that  drilling 
oats  is  superior  to  broadcasting  as  a  method  of  seeding  for  average 
Illinois  conditions. 


1909]     .  METHODS  OF  SEEDING  OATS  311 

TREATMENT  OF  OATS  FOR  SMUT 

In  our  discussion  of  means  of  increasing  the  yields  of  oats  in  Illi- 
nois, we  must  not  neglect  to  mention  the  gain  secured  by  the  treatment 
of  the  seed  oats  for  smut.  The  loss  from  smut  in  Illinois  is  much 
greater  than  is  commonly  supposed.  The  loss  is  usually  underestimated 
for  three  reasons. 

1.  The  smutted  stalks  are  usually  shorter  than  the  healthy  ones 
and  therefore  are  not  observed  unless  special  effort  is  made  to  find 
them. 

2.  The  smutted  heads  do  not  always  push  out  of  the  sheath  leaves, 
so  that  if  these  are  noticed  at  all  they  are  merely  counted  as  dwarfed 
plants. 

3.  The  smut  ripens  several  days  earlier  than  the  healthy  heads, 
and,  unless  the  field  is  examined  before  cutting,  the  smutted  heads  are 
overlooked  since  the  wind  scatters  the  smut  spores  and  leaves  only  the 
bare  stalk. 

In  1901  the  Illinois  Experiment  Station  secured  a  total  of  537 
tests  representing  nearly  every  section  of  the  state  and  found  that  on 
an  average  the  amount  of  smut  in  the  oatfields  was  over  13  percent. 
Since  1901  the  Illinois  Experiment  Station  has  made  repeated  tests 
with  oats,  grown  side  by  side  on  the  same  general  type  of  soil,  the  seed 
on  one  plot  having  been  treated  to  destroy  the  smut  spores,  while  the 
seed  on  the  next  plot  was  untreated.  These  tests  have  shown  that  93 
percent  of  all  those  plots  sown  with  untreated  seed  had  from  1  to  20 
percent  of  the  heads  smutted.  Only  44  percent  of  the  plots  sown  with 
treated  seed  showed  any  smut  at  all,  and  the  average  amount  found 
on  any  of  these  treated  plots  was  1.2  percent. 

The  smallest  loss  in  any  single  season  where  untreated  oats  were 
sown  was  y\  bushel  per  acre,  and  the  largest  loss  of  any  season  was 
13.25  bushels  per  acre.  This  loss  can  all  be  avoided  by  treating  seed 
at  least  every  third  year  by  the  following  method : 

Formalin  Treatment 

Make  a  solution  of  1  pound  of  concentrated*  formalin  to  40  gal- 
lons of  water.  Mix  thoroly  by  stirring.  Spread  a  convenient  quantity 
of  seed  oats  to  be  treated,  to  a  depth  of  from  3  to  5  inches,  upon  a 
tight  floor  or  in  a  wagon  box.  With  an  ordinary  sprinkler-pot,  sprinkle 
the  formalin  solution  over  all  parts  of  the  grain  until  the  top  of  the 
pile  is  quite  wet.  Stir  the  pile  over  with  a  garden  rake  or  scoop 
shovel,  until  the  damp  oats  are  thoroly  mixed  with  those  on  the  bottom 
of  the  pile.  Repeat  the  sprinkling  and  stirring  until  every  kernel  in 
the  pile  is  thoroly  dampened.  Repeat  this  process  until  all  the  seed 
necessary  for  sowing  has  been  treated.  As  soon  as  one  portion  is 
treated  shovel  into  a  pile  and  cover  with  an  old  binder  canvas,  blanket, 
sacks,  or  any  cloth.  Leave  covered  for  at  least  12  hours.  The  oats 


*  Concentrated  formalin  is  a  forty  per  cent,  solution  of  formaldehyde.  It  is  a  clear  transparent 
liquid,  resembling  water,  except  that  it  has  a  very  sharp,  pungent,  penetrating  odor.  A  concentration  of 
forty  per  cent,  should  be  insisted  on  in  ordering  to  be  sure  of  results. 


312  BULLETIN  No.  136  [July, 

may  be  treated  during  the  winter,  dried,  and  placed  back  in  the  bin, 
or  they  may  be  treated  the  day  previous  to  the  time  they  are  to  be 
sowed.  Oats  treated  by  this  method  require  the  use  of  about  one  half 
a  gallon  of  the  formalin  solution  per  bushel  of  seed  to  insure  satisfac- 
tion. This  method  of  treatment  is  easy,  rapid,  requires  a  small  amount 
of  material,  does  not  wet  the  seed  until  it  is  difficult  to  sow,  and  is 
comparatively  cheap.  Formalin  will  cost  about  40  cents  per  pound 
at  the  drug  stores.  One  pound  will  make  solution  enough  to  treat 
about  60  bushels  of  seed.  The  cost  of  treatment  therefore  in  labor 
and  material  will  be  about  2  cents  per  bushel,  and  the  benefits  derived 
therefrom  in  increased  yield  worth  double  as  many  dollars. 


LIST  OF  BULLETINS  AND  CIRCULARS 

The  following  is  a  list  of  Bulletins  and  Circulars  of  the  Illinois 
Experiment  Station  available  for  distribution.  Any  of  these  will  be 
sent  free  of  charge  to  any  one  interested  in  Illinois  agriculture  upon 
request  to  E.  Davenport,  Director,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station, 
Urbana,  Illinois.  The  list  below  includes  only  such  bulletins  and  cir- 
culars as  bear  directly  upon  some  phase  of  crop  production. 

Circular  No.    81.     Selection  of  Seed  in  Potato  Growing. 

No.    86.     Science  and  Sense  in  the  Inoculation  of  Legumes. 
No.    89.     Treatment  of  Oats  for  Smut. 
No.  117.     Dry  Rot  in  Corn. 
Bulletin  No.    76.     Alfalfa  on  Illinois  Soil. 

No.  100.     Directions  for  the  Breeding  of  Corn,  Including 

Methods  for  the  Prevention  of  Inbreeding. 
"         No.  113.     Shrinkage  of  Ear  Corn  in  Cribs. 

No.  121.     Variety  Tests  of  Wheat. 
"         No.  126.     Distance  Between  Hills  for  Corn  in  the  Illinois 

Corn  Belt. 

"         No.  128.     Ten  Generations  of  Corn  Breeding. 
"         No.  136.     Methods  of  Seeding  Oats,  Drilling  and  Broad- 
casting. 


